Young Barbican Takeover Festival 2025

Live Music | FreeStage, Level G

Curated by the team at So Young Magazine, join us on the Level G FreeStage for an afternoon of live music from the underground guitar scene. Each performance will also be followed by a Q&A with each band hosted by So Young’s own writers.

Everyone's invited to enjoy these performances on the FreeStage. You don't need a festival pass to gain entry. 

Restless Taxis
12:15pm-1pm
Hailing from East London, Restless Taxis is an up-and-coming, eccentric noise rock band that defies convention. The lineup includes Michael on guitar, Jess on bass, Dylan on drums, and Tash, whose interpretive dance adds a visual dimension to their already immersive performances. Known for their raw energy and atmospheric soundscapes, Restless Taxis creates music that feels both visceral and otherworldly. With their highly anticipated EP Psycho Central dropping this year, the band promises to deliver an unforgettable auditory and visual experience that sets them apart in the noise rock scene.

Most Things
1.30pm-2.15pm
Most Things is a two piece band from London comprising bass guitar, voice and drums.

Pem 
2.45pm-3.30pm
Pem is the project of Bristol based musician Emily Perry. Blending her rare husky voice with boundless vocal agility, she crafts a sound that hovers somewhere between folk and the smoky serenades of early sirens in music halls of days gone by. Her haunting voice dances up and over ethereal arrangements and intricate taletelling, lulling listeners into warm hazes of vulnerable contemplation.

Man/Woman/Chainsaw 
4pm-4.45pm
Man/Woman/Chainsaw are Billy Ward (vocals, guitars), Emmie-Mae Avery (vocals, keys/synths), Vera Leppänen (vocals, bass), Clio Harwood (violin) and Lola Waterworth (drums). A precociously talented five-piece from London, the band recently celebrated their 100th gig. Since their debut at 16 years old and across three self-released singles, the band have proven themselves as one of the most exciting and unpredictable young acts in the capital, both joyous and raucous in equal measures

Folly Group 
5.30pm-6.15pm
On stage, Folly Group is the sum of drums, percussion, bass, guitar, vocals and a sampler. Elsewhere, Folly Group is an amorphous creative entity, encompassing a group of friends whose practice spans various disciplines. Its members have all played with each other in various projects over the last three years, now Folly Group is a way to mess with form, structure and signifiers. Folly Group attempts to interrogate the job of the band; it’s an allergic reaction to stasis and complacency. 

Film screenings | Cinema 1

Join us in Cinema 1 to kick-off our 10 years of Chronic Youth Film Festival celebrations, as part of the showcase we are inviting back alumni of our Young Film Programmers programme to host an afternoon of film screenings.

After buying your £10 festival pass, reserve your free ticket to these events to guarantee your space, this is due to limited capacity.

Shorts Programme + Introduction by Barbican Young Film Programme Alumni
1.30pm-2:50pm

Screenings:

I don’t have the answers 
2022 UK/Ghana directed by Makella Ama (2 min)

TWICE AS GOOD 
2021 UK directed by Jeremy Ngatho Cole (12 min)

Home Movie 
2021 UK directed by Simi Abe (3 min)

neither here, nor there 
2019 UK directed by Yassmine Betioui (1 min)

Joy 
2020 Northern Ireland directed by Grace Hynds (6 min)

Lloydie, The Boy from St. Thomas 
2019 UK directed by Keifer Nyron Taylor (8 min)

Avenue Road Moving Stories 
2021 UK directed by Liza Fletcher (19 min)

X 
US 2021 UK directed by Akinola Davies (11 min)

Reserve your space for the Shorts Programme

Girlhood (15), directed by Céline Sciamma with Introduction from co-founder of T A P E Collective, Isra Al Kassi
3.15pm–5.20pm
The film follows Marieme (Karidja Touré), a young girl navigating the challenges of adolescence in a tough Paris suburb. As she joins a gang of free-spirited girls, Marieme slowly comes out of her shell and experiences moments of shared joy and freedom.

Reserve your space for Girlhood. 
 

Literary Performances | Conservatory Well, entry via Conservatory Terrace Level 4

The conservatory becomes a hub for emerging and established writers. Expect intimate pop up readings and talks from writers including Travis Alabanza, James Massiah as well as Barbican's home grown talent from the Barbican Young Poets.

Barbican Young Poets performances
12pm-1.10pm
Barbican Young Poets is an artist development initiative and community for those who wish to explore what’s possible for their poetry and creative expression. Through the programme, our young poets generate new writing and experiment with different ways of working, refining a selection of new work towards publication, performance, or presentation. 

In conversation with Travis Alabanza and Susanna Davies-Crook
1.15pm-2pm
Travis Alabanza is an award winning writer, performer and theatre maker. Their writing has appeared in the BBC, Guardian, Vice, Gal-Dem and they previously had a fortnightly column in the metro. Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has been noted internationally, giving talks at universities including Oxford, Harvard, Bristol and more. Susanna Davies – Crook is the Curator of Public Programmes at the Barbican.

Reading from James Massiah 
3.30pm-4.15pm
James is a much valued creative in the underground world, embedded by the NTS community he has built a name for himself as one of London’s most sought after DJs. He has performed readings of his work at the Tate Modern, the Courtauld, the ICA and at the Houses of Parliament, as well as commissions for the BBC, The Guardian and Nike, continuing to invigorate the city’s rich spoken word scene with his regular poetry night Adult Entertainment  where the likes of John Glacier, Obongjayar and Cosha have taken to the stage.

Readings from actor and writer Laurie Ogden
5pm-5.30pm
Laurie is a northern multi-disciplinary artist currently based in London She is a former winner of the Ambit Poetry Prize, Outspoken Poetry Prize and was longlisted for the Jerwood Poetry Fellowship. She was shortlisted for the Women's Theatre Lab 2024 and for the Box of Tricks & Sky Arts SCREEN/PLAY Award 2021. Laurie is currently co-editor of poetry magazine And Other Poems.

Barbican Young Poets performances
5.30pm-6pm
Our Barbican Young Poets wrap-up the day with more performances showcasing new work. 

Literary Salon | Conservatory Terrace, Level 4
2pm-5pm
The Conservatory terrace hosts a mixer and meet n greet, providing the opportunity for young creatives to meet editors, publishers and content creators who can help you get your words out there. Publishers include, Fitzcarraldo, Chateau International and SEASON zine will be in attendance to chat.

The Conservatory Terrace will also be hosting a pop-up bookshop on the day.

Penguin
Penguin's journey began on a train platform, with a simple idea – books that were affordable and accessible for everyone. Since 1935, they've been striving to publish books that define generations, shape culture, and share the moments that matter. 90 years on and their mission remains the same. They make books for everyone, because a book can change anyone.

Polyester
Polyester is a self published, intersectional feminist publication aiming to bridge the gap of URL cyber-feminism with the IRL world.

Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent publisher specialising in contemporary fiction and long-form essays. Founded in 2014, it focuses on ambitious, imaginative and innovative writing, both in translation and in the English language. The series, designed by Ray O’Meara, are published as paperback originals with French flaps, using a custom serif typeface (called Fitzcarraldo). Fitzcarraldo Editions publishes, among other authors, the 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature laureates Svetlana Alexievich, Olga Tokarczuk, Annie Ernaux and Jon Fosse. 

SEASON zine
SEASON zine is the football, fashion & beauty filter. A trailblazing football and fashion platform that launched in London in 2016. SEASON tell football and fashion stories that showcase, celebrate and empower female fans and marginalised communities authentically, while unpacking important issues, pushing for greater inclusivity and collaborating with exciting creative talent. 

Chateau International
Chateau International is a UK-based independent publisher and creative platform, known for producing art and culture publications that explore critical themes through collaborative projects.